Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-04-21
SHIRLEY CARSTONE.
By ELIZA ARcHARD.
copyrighted by the American Press Association
CHAPTER XIV.
TIE SILK COLONY.

THE SILK COLONY.
So at last, as always, though constantly
working and thinking for others, calmneSs of
soul came TO Shirley.
Was her heart brokeni Well, there was
much left in life still
1t was her hard fate to be tied in this one
little village. Linwood it was to be, for good
or i'll She recognized her fate and made the
best OF it. ut length she became more
warmly interested than she could have be-
heved in things about her.
The village Improvement scheme was only
q part Of her labors. From long habit of
thought her mind still followed the old ideals
OF her unwIitten poem She found no calm
no time yet to begin the poem. 1t must be
put off still again. But meantime, following
the one golden thread of thought, she uncon-
sciously turned to women.
During the fever Shirley had found among
the villagers a poverty and an unhappiness
that surprised her. Persons who have the
sense of respectability, however small, in
stinctively put the best foot forward Behind
many neat street garb hungry stomach
sits and bowls in secret
The specter Of sickness attacked the house
holds and shook out the hidden specters in
plain sight. Shirley perceived constantly
barrenneSs of the commonest small comforts,
lack even Of articles Of food that was pain
full to her. 1t was the case alike among the
overworked farm wives and the idle, gadding
village.wives. Poverty she herself knew, she
thought. But it was that independent pov-
erty which has fertility of resource, the pov-
erty which whets the edge of struggle and
aspiration. From this kind of poverty every
thing that is worth having in the world has
come
But these women' The larger part of the
small things which Shirley thought a civil
lied human being regarded as necessities of
life were to them unknown luxuries. In
such hard, stupid poverty as this, what
hope?
Could nothing be done to help them? The
question haunted Shirley. Could they not
somehow be put in the way of helping them
selves? Verify there was little that they
might even hope for. An unframed grown
woman in village can do nothing to gel
money. Although there was among them
lack of so many of the small things that make
life desirable, yea, absolute want now and
then, these women had no lack of time ON
their hands, 1t was the habit of many of
them, women and girls to sit and gaze idlv
out the window, hour after hour A little
spasmodic, intermittent effort finished the
small work they were obliged to do. For the
rest, nothing They had no knowledge of
anything better and no incentive to action
That was all there was in life for them. They
had even no appreciation that it was a sin to
waste time So Their idleness and poverty
brought with it poverty of soul that was
most hopeless Of all.
1t was ut this period that public attention |
was first being generally called to the beauti- |
full silk weaving industry in this country. |
Shirley herself had visited the mills, and been |
delighted as anybody must be with the ex- |
quisite fabrics wrought there
The workmen showed her the filmy, shining |
threads from which the splendid fabrics were |
made These had all to be brought over seas.
they told her. 1t was certain the mulberry |
tree could be reared here at home. and the |
silk cocoons produced. The production of |
raw silk was an industry scarcely less beauti-
full than that of weaving the threads and re- |
munerative too 1t was not done in America |
simply because it was not done.
One day, thinking of the idle yet poverty |
stricken women she knew, Shirley happened |
to recall what she had heard in the silk mills.
She put the two together.
Once more, processes are dull to outsiders.
Therefore again we skip them There is
enough dullness in this world, Lord knowsl
even after we get rid of all we can.
No, we will have only results, for the pres
emit The women's silk colony of Lin
wood-behold-is it not known to every
intelligent person in the land? An intelli- |
gent person is one who reads newspapers.
Shirley obtained all the information DOS
sible. She planted her mulberry shoots. she
got her cocoons and learned how to take caro-
Of Them Travellers on the now much fire.
quented road past the stone house to the vii
lage turned to watch again the noble figure
and bent head Of the woman who was so in
tently busy in the grounds. Out there among
her silk trees she might well have been taken
for the reincalnation of the splendid empress
who first introduced silk culture among her
grateful people and thence gave it to the
world
Silk culture would have prospered in
America more than 200 years ago, only that
tobacco rooted it out 1t did not do so in
Linwood Shirley experimental with her
mulberries and silk worms till she was sue
cessful. She taught the secret to the neigh
bor women. The new and graceful employ
ment spread among them. At length the
colony produced annually no inconsiderable
quantity of raw silk of an admirable quality
The women and children did the work. It
brought hundreds of dollars to the poor
stingy little neighborhood Weed patches
became mulberry gardens. In truth, there
was by and by not weed left in that region.
Linwood became prosperous, handsome and
ambitious. Articles Of taste, beauty and
comfort were added yearly to the humble
homes. The hard, poverty stricken lives of
the women blossomed out till they became
new creatures under the magic of prosperity.
They learned how admirable q thing it is for
human being to earn his own money and
spend it as he pleases. They tasted the sweets
of independence
The village women sloughed off the idle
ness of their wasted lives In the round of
healthy, happy, paid work they forgot the
idle talkee-talkee of other years. They out
grew the spite, the narrow feminine jeal-
Ousies. They could no longer spend time
from money getting to indulge in these Pc
Culiar little amusements
There was another good result.
The town became general center of inter-
est Foreigners visiting the country and
tourists from half over the continent came
there to see the Women's silk colony. Whether
they looked at the handsome, tree embowered
village itself, with its clean, smooth streets
and tasteful homes, the novel, successful in
dustry that had contributed SO greatly to its
prosperity, or at the well fed, well dressed
girls and children-everything they saw was
interesting and pleasing. There came SO many